Unknown feelings
by Arya Celebrimor
Summary: This a HinaxNeji, a little drama going on. This is a long story with a lot of love... yeah, I'm bad at this... you better read it.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! This is my first NejixHina. I hope you like it. Please, if you don't like the couple, don't read it. I'm not really a fan of it, but the idea came to me and I just had to write it. So, enjoy!

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**Unknwon feelings**

Everything started that day

Everything started that day. It was a sunny day, as far as he could remember. Team Gai had just arrived from a very long mission, and they were looking for food. Gai left them half way, for he had to report to Tsunade sama. That left the three teammates looking for food. As they walked through the streets of Konoha they found the Ichiraku's place, the seats almost full, for the Kurenai's team was taking lunch.

"Hey guys!" said Tenten "Can we join you?"

"Hey! How are you doing?" asked Kiba "It's ok, sit."

"Hi…ugh…Hello, Neji kun, Tenten san, Lee kun…" said Hinata in her usual shy voice.

Neji sat next to her, not that he was too happy about it. Tenten sat next to him and Lee next to her (please don't ask me how did they all fit on the bar).

The meal was going just fine; Lee was talking in a very enthusiastic way about their recent adventures and Neji, as usual, was stuck in the middle of a crazy chat between the named Lee and Kiba. They were finishing lunch when the disaster came.

"Naruto is coming" said Shino, as serious as always, but something in his tone of voice made Kiba turn around.

"What?" said Kiba as he, for Neji's relieve, interrupted his discussion with Lee about the red monkeys from who-knows-where "Oh no…"

Oh yes. That's when disaster started. Hinata had turned her face to the table so she wouldn't see Naruto; her face was bright red. At the mention of the 'Oh no' she turned around to see what had happened, but Kiba stood up faster and covered the whole view.

"Ah etooo…Hinata chan, eh, well, maybe we should leave…" he said, trying not to look too suspicious "I mean, we already finished and…" but his try didn't work. Hinata felt that something was not ok, so she just saw through Kiba with her byakkugan.

The moment she did it and the others looked at what Kiba was hiding, things began to fall. Tenten stopped breathing, Shino munched nervously some noodles (but of course nobody noticed it), Kiba covered his eyes with a hand, Akamaru hided behind Kiba, Neji looked confused by the whole matter, Lee almost died of a heart attack (but that's another story) and Hinata's world seemed to have stopped for what they saw.

There they were Naruto and Sakura, kissing in the middle of the street. Tenten turned around to face Lee, that was now getting an unhealthy white color on his face, and Neji finally seemed to have caught the idea.

When Naruto and Sakura finally pull apart, he said something to her that made her laugh, and her laughing made Naruto smile, a nice, deeply in love smile.

Hinata close her eyes in pain and turn her head to face the table; Neji was the first one to see a small tear falling slowly down her white pale face. She was hurt, dying inside. Nobody spoke during several seconds, and Neji felt a horrible feeling in his stomach, an unknown feeling. Then Tenten finally turn to face Lee and asked:

"Lee…Are you alright?" she was being very careful with not hurting his feelings.

"Ah...?" it took him a few seconds to process the information "Yeah, well, not exactly" he corrected on a very weird tone of voice "but, I'll be fine, I saw this coming, I guess. And it…well, it's not that I'm still so in love with her anyway" he said this last thing in a whisper, but Tenten could hear it. She was going to ask him what he meant by that when she was suddenly interrupted by Kiba's voice.

"Hinata…" said Kiba "please, let's just go…it's going to be ok" but then again, his try didn't work. Hinata tried to hold her tears back but she couldn't. Instead of that, she stood up quickly, with her back facing Naruto and Sakura's direction "Hinata…?" asked Kiba.

Naruto and Sakura were approaching to them, and that's when she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Hey guys!" said Sakura "Hinata chan, how are you d…"

But her phrase stood in the air. Hinata began to run. Kiba made an attempt to run after her, but was suddenly stopped by Neji's arm.

"What are you…?" began Kiba.

"I'll go for her" he said in a very cold voice.

"What? You? You don't give a damn about her!! Stay out of my way!!" he said angry, trying to release himself from Neji.

"I SAID I WILL GO AFTER HER!!" he screamed as he pushed him back, and he scared himself with that. Why he was loosing control like that? "I'm…I'm sorry" he apologized…wait…he just apologized…to Kiba…What was happening to him? "I'll find her and take her home…I'll see you guys later" he said to a very astonished Lee and Tenten. And, hey, wait a second… 'I'll see you guys later'?? What the hell was that?? Kiba made an attempt to follow him, but Shino stopped him, grabbing him by the arm.

"Leave him" he said "it'll be better if he takes her home. We will go visit her in the morning."

"But…" Kiba began, but was suddenly interrupted by his teammate.

"He is her cousin anyway" Shino continued "it'll make her happy if he goes after her. He never pays attention to her, but he is doing it right now. It'll be fine."

"I hope you're right" said Kiba as he turned around to face a very confused Sakura and Naruto "We'll need an explanation for them…"

Meanwhile, Neji was jumping from roof to roof trying to find Hinata…and an answer for his latest behavior. What on earth had made him feel so angry? And why did he loose control like that?

"It's her tears fault…" he thought as he was running through the streets, leaving the confused crowd at Ichiraku's far behind him. He had never seen her cry in pain like that…but why was he so upset about it? It's not like he had some feelings for her. Well, she was from the Hyuuga main branch, so that meant he had to look after her, besides, she was his cousin; and yes, he used to think that she was pretty back then when they were Childs and yes she was even more beautiful now…and she was always trying to spend time with him even when he didn't listen to her nor pay her much attention… and such a pretty girl didn't deserve to cry in so much pain…

Wait again!! Why was he thinking in all this foolishness? He would just find her and then take her home. And in spirit of that…Why was he running after her in the first place? That ramen must have had something in it…

He ran for a little while, but it didn't take him long to find her. She was sitting next to the river side, her face buried on her knees. She was crying, and what a crying. It was silent, painful, but silent. He stood away from her for a while, not so sure of what to do next. She still hadn't noticed him, for what he could see. He finally decided to go and talk to her, but still wasn't sure of it. He walked through the daisies and sat next to her. That's when she noticed him. She looked up as he sat just to hide her face again after identifying him.

"Go away, Neji kun" she said on a very tired tone of voice, as if she had already screamed her pain to the world "I want to be alone…"

He had never seen her like that, nor heard her talking like that. He suddenly felt…scared. He felt pain, he felt anger. Why was he feeling all this? Why? And why was she suffering so much? It was not a secret for anybody that she had always been in love with Naruto, and he never cared of it…or maybe…did he actually cared of it? No, it couldn't be that. In one way or another, he was now there, with a deeply hurt cousin, and with no idea what to do next.

He finally got an idea. 'Whenever Lee is upset, Gai sensei puts a hand on his shoulder' He remembered. He felt kind of stupid for doing it, but he still had to try. He slowly put his right hand on her shoulder, and then whisper to her ear:

"Hinata sama" said slowly "it's ok to cry…I guess, I mean…" he didn't have the foggiest idea about how to follow from there "It's going to be alright…" that was the best of him.

But even with his inexperienced way of comforting, something in the tone of his voice caught her attention. Was he being nice to her? Was he caring of her? Was it the cold Neji's voice? No, it was someone else's voice, the voice of a warmer person, the voice of the little kid she met long ago. When did the little kid had returned? She will never know that for sure; what she actually knew, was that there was a warm hand on her shoulder, and that it felt very kind.

She looked up at him. He was looking in a different direction. She touched his hand resting on her shoulder with her own, making him feel weird, nervous.

"Arigato, Neji kun." she said, tears still on her eyes "but I still want to be alone" her voice was so sad…that Neji turned to face her.

"Hinata sama" he said as he moved his hand from her shoulder to her wet warm cheek "Hinata sama, you shouldn't cry like this, you really look better when you are smiling…"

What on earth was that?? He asked to himself. It was not the kind of comment he would have said. His body was reacting against his will. He would have blamed the ramen again if he hadn't been so busy trying to stop himself from doing something even more stupid.

But he couldn't. He couldn't avoid seeing the surprised look on Hinata's face. He couldn't avoid the impulse of approach his face to hers. He couldn't avoid whispering to her ear:

"Don't cry anymore, please" Was he begging her now?? "It's ok, I'm here. But if you can't contain yourself…" at this point, he was facing her again, and their heads were so closed together that he could feel her breath; he rested his forehead against hers and whispered "if you can't contain yourself from crying, I'll wait…" What the…

They got closer, so close that their lips almost met. Almost, that's the word, for he reacted for the first time on Kami sama-knows-how-long. He finally gained control of his body, and turned his face to a different direction.

"I…I'm sorry" he whispered "you can keep on crying if you want, I'll wait to take you home…"

"Neji kun…" said a very stunned Hinata. Neji's cheeks were turning from a very pale tone of pink to a bright red, and he was looking the daisies as if they had something interesting to see. Hinata's face was bright red too, more than usual I mean, and she felt confused. Still, in the moment he released her she couldn't contain her pain anymore, and new tears began to fall down her cheeks "Neji kun!"

She threw herself into his arms. He didn't know how to react, but after several seconds he hugged her back, and prepared himself to listen to whatever she was going to tell him.

"I…I…" she began, tears falling down her face "I should have told him my feelings before" she said this while crying, so Neji found it hard to understand her words "and now…now…" more sobbing "Now it's too late!!" more tears.

"It's…ok…" he said in the calmest voice he could use "this will pass…and…" he was searching for something comforting to say "well…you will find someone else, someone who would love you more…" more tears. He begged for it not to be his fault.

They stood on that position of crying and comforting for a long time. So long that when Neji tried to move, he realized that Hinata had fell asleep on his arms, her cheeks still wet, and it was now sunset. He grabbed her on his arms at the purest princess style, and took her home. When he arrived he found that everyone was on the chuuning exams, whether just as spectators or serving as judges. He took Hinata to her room, laid her on her bed, and covered her with clean sheets. He couldn't avoid staring at her sleeping; it was a nice picture, so peacefully…

He left the room confused, but the worst was about to come. The moment he felt safe on his own bedroom, after closing the door, he laid against it, sat on the floor, covered his mouth with one hand, and felt a small single tear going down his cheek; then another followed the first one…then another… and then he began to really cry. Why was he crying? He just remembered Hinata's painful crying, the tears coming down her face, the pain on every word she spoke. And, beyond that, his useless comforting words, for no mattered what he said, she was in so much pain it didn't seemed to be a helpful try.

He cried in silence for a long time, frustrated, confused, hurt. Actually, he felt more confused than everything. Why did it hurt that much? It would take him a long time to understand.

Finally, after an hour or so, he stopped crying; he took a bath, put on a clean pajama, and went to bed. It took him a half of that night to fell asleep, for small tears were still falling down from his eyes to the pillow. Luckily for him, he didn't have any dreams of any kind that night.

Hinata opened her eyes as Neji left the room. She was shocked for everything that had happened that day. She began crying again when she remembered the picture of Naruto and Sakura, but it suddenly blew away when another memory came into her mind: Neji comforting her. And then a stronger one came to her: Neji almost kissing her.

But it couldn't be. It was ridiculous; perhaps, she was so depress in that moment that she imagined the whole thing. Yes, it had to be that. Neji…trying to kiss her. What a stupid idea. However, he did take the time to listen to her, and then he took her home. She had at least to say thank you.

So she stood up and went to Neji's room. She was about to knock the door when she heard something…what could that little noise be? She had the feeling that she had heard it before… it was like… someone sobbing… and the noise came from… no, it couldn't be. But sill she had to check. She used her byakkugan to see through Neji's door, just to find him on the floor, against his door, crying.

She stood quiet for a moment, and then she turned away, too confused for doing anything. Why was he crying? Was it because he was in love with Sakura? Or, maybe, was it because of her? Why was this situation confusing her? She arrived to her bedroom while thinking this; she closed the door behind her and changed her clothes to her pajama. She fell asleep after an hour of painful, confused crying. Luckily for her too, she also didn't have any dreams of any kind.

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Well, there you go... did you like it? I'll submit next chapter in a couple of day, I hope. Please, leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2

Finally the second chapter!! I apologize for taking too long. I've been very busy lately. So, I hope you enjoy this one as much as the first one!! And thank you all for the reviews! LOL

**I don't own Naruto or its characters.

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****Chapter two: The next day**

The next day Neji woke up feeling horribly tired. He gently passed a hand all over his face, just to discover dry tears marks on his cheeks. A heavy feeling suddenly crossed his chest, making him feel puzzled. He searched for the hour on the clock next to his bed, and found out that it was seven o'clock in the morning; too late for his usual awakening time. He got used to wake up at six o'clock thanks to Gai sensei's fault. He even woke up at five or earlier whenever he had to train with Lee. Lee… they where eighteen now, and they had become very good friends. He will probably be worried about him for not appearing to the training today, but he would have to forgive him, because for the first time in his shinobi's life he wasn't feeling like training at all.

He sat up in his bed, still confused, and got conscious of his headache. It was new for him that he woke up feeling as if he had a hangover, not that he had had one before. He then went to the bathroom, and washed his face on the sink with cold water. 'I wonder if… if Hinata sama is feeling better today' he thought to himself.

And then he remembered the events of last day; and I mean that he remembered everything, since the moment he left Ichiraku's to the moment he left his cousin lying on her bed… and her peaceful face…

Remembering her peaceful sleeping face made him feel weird. He dried his face with a towel and then turned to look at his reflection in the mirror…

"What the…" he whispered, as he found out that his cheeks were turning red. He studied his reflection as if he had never blushed before… He had actually never seen himself blushing. Why was he blushing?

He tried to not pay much attention to this. He changed his clothes and left his bedroom, but not before giving a glance to the clock. Thirty past seven. He still had time enough to train a bit before breakfast; he really wasn't feeling like training, but it might help him to forget his headache, and his weird feelings.

He walked through the almost empty hallways, for the servants had already waked up. He reached for the path to the training grounds, but, before arriving to it, he turned to face the hallway that leaded to Hinata's bedroom. Why did he have this messy feeling on his chest? What was this concerning feeling? Why did his cheeks suddenly felt heated? Something wasn't ok with him… He was probably getting sick and had fever or something like that.

He was so concentrated in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he was walking the way to Hinata's room, and before he could even say 'Byakkugan' he was standing in front of her door. He was about to knock, but he regretted. What if she was still asleep? He used his byakkugan instead. He was right, she was still asleep. He left her and made his way to the training grounds. He would have time to talk to her later; besides, he was feeling too weird standing in front of her door. Hopefully, she will wake up on a good mood.

Hinata opened her eyes. Staring at the clock on the wall in front of her bed, she found out that it was forty past seven. It was very late; she usually takes breakfast with her father and sister at seven. It was weird, though, that nobody came to wake her up.

Then she remembered: the chunnin exams. They probably left her behind because they thought she was too tired from her last mission.

Images began appearing inside her head, since the beginning of her last mission, to the meal she took with her team after coming back to Konoha… and then Team Gai arriving to the place… and then the probably most horrible image ever came to her mind…

She began to cry again. The pain was still there; she was hoping that it would magically disappear after a night of painful crying, but it didn't, and the wound was still as fresh as yesterday to her.

She suddenly heard the impact of wood against a wall; someone was training on the near training ground. 'Neji kun' she thought to herself. She made an attempt to sit on her bed, but she couldn't. The pain was too much, and the heavy feeling on her heart was wining the battle against her will. Tears were falling through her cheeks. The sadness was killing her from inside out.

The sound stopped. Neji had finished his training. She now asked herself why he wasn't on the chuning exams, not that she really cared. She heard someone opening and then slamming her door on a very violent way. She could have sworn that Neji came in, but it couldn't be. Why would he do that for?

"Hinata sama" he said breathless because of his suddenly interrupted training and his crazy race to her bedroom. He was staring at her moving from the suddenly opened door to Hinata's bed side "Hinata sama… Are you alright? Is something wrong? Why are you crying again?" he asked as he approached even more to her bed, confirming that she was crying. She turned and looked at him with wet eyes, not daring to answer nor able to sit.

He closed his eyes, blocking the byakugan. He had seen her while training with his kekei genkai, and saw her crying, maybe without the intention of spying, but still, he looked at her crying from the corner of his eye. And he stopped his training, forgot his headache and run to her, to find her, to see her.

"Hinata sama…" Neji continued "please don't cry." He stood quiet for a moment; his inner self was asking him something like 'What the hell are you doing?' Hinata hide herself inside her sheets, not answering to his begging look.

Neji felt frustrated. He had the hope that she would awake feeling better, and that everything would go back to normal. But of course, he had never been so in love as Hinata, or… had he?

"Hinata sama!" he said as he removed the sheets that were covering her face. She didn't move, but she did take the sheets off from Neji's hand and covered herself again.

"L-leave me alone, Neji kun. I… I'm not feeling o-ok today" she said with a very weak voice.

"I can see that" he replied with a frustrated tone of voice "I don't understand" he continued, raising his tone "He doesn't worth" he said; too angry to control the raising on his voice now "He doesn't worth enough for you to be crying for him!! You don't have to cry for him!!"

"What do you know?!" Hinata took away the sheets and sat on her bed; a furious pair of pearl eyes looked at Neji's equal ones "I loved him!! I… I still love him…" and she began crying again.

A painful feeling crossed his heart, hurting him like a very heavy arrow. Neji didn't see that coming. He had never heard Hinata screaming. She had actually never screamed like that, he could tell.

"Why?" said Neji "Why do you love him so much?" he could feel his voice breaking inside his throat "Why…?"

And then he froze. Not because of Hinata's surprised face, but for what caused her surprise in the first place. He felt a small tear running down his face. He felt desperation. He felt anger and a sudden desire to kill Naruto, but of course he wouldn't kill him; and finally, he felt sadness and that awful heavy feeling on his heart again, only that more painful now if possible. 'Why?' he asked himself for the second time 'Why do I feel like this?' 'Why am I crying?' 'Why am I feeling like this?!'

He couldn't let Hinata see his confusion and frustration. He then turned around, facing the door, ready to leave now.

"I… I'll leave you alone" he said, trying to control his voice "if… if you need something just call me…"

He dried the tears with his sleeve, but no matter how hard he tried to stop crying, he just couldn't.

"Neji kun…" she whispered as he closed the door behind him.

Neji walked in silence through the not-so-empty hallways, ignoring the questions of the servants and not even daring to look at them. He walked as a spirit in pain on a graveyard; not that he believed on ghosts. When he arrived to his room, and after closing the door very carefully (he wasn't paying much attention, by the way) he searched for the mirror. He had to be sure. It couldn't be. He wasn't crying again. His face was not red. He could not be blushing again. That couldn't be truth.

But it was. He was breathing very slowly, as if he found it hard to normally breathe, when he looked himself in the mirror; sadly for him, he found a red face with tears running down his cheeks. He felt so confused that he sat on his bed, too confused to do something. He tried very hard to put himself together.

After a few minutes he finally stopped crying, but not without a great effort. He was about to stand up when he heard someone knocking the door.

"Neji nisan" said Hanabi's voice "are you coming to the chunin exams? Father sent me for you two…"

"I… I'm not going; I have something to do" he said as he stood up, and went to the door with a determined look on his face. He opened the door and ignored Hanabi's questions. "You better go check on your sister."

And without anything else, he left. He left and ran, very fast by the way.

He didn't know exactly where he was going, for he just ran. That annoying confusion and the heavy pain still incrusted on his chest.

And then, before he realized, he was standing in front of Lee's door. Subconsciously, his body took him to the only place he wouldn't search for help.

But, why not? He needed an answer, and didn't know what to do or who else could help him and Lee was his friend; he was actually his best friend, and he would never deny him help.

He was about to knock the door, I mean, he raised his fist to knock it… but he regretted. What was he doing? It was stupid, running like a crazy man searching for help. It wasn't logical, and it was definitely not something that a Hyuuga genius would do. He could handle this issue by himself. What a fool he was.

He turned his back to the door and, after a moment of hesitation, he left. Inside of the apartment, Lee thought he had heard something. 'My imagination' said Lee to himself.

Neji needed to clear his mind. He was too confused to neither do anything nor concentrate on anything. So, he went to Team Gai's training place, and threw himself on the fresh grass. Staring at the clouds, and allowing the tears to come out, he began searching for an answer to his messy feelings.

Hinata was depressed. She really was. Hanabi knew it. She didn't want to leave her bed. She probably hadn't eaten today. Why was she so sad? Hinata had requested her to leave the room, and when she said didn't want to, Hinata screamed at her to go away. Hanabi got so scared that she ran off the room. She then heard her crying even more loudly. She had to look for help. This was too much, first Neji and then her sister. Had the world just gone insane?

Hinata felt helpless and weak. Neji felt helpless and confused. Hanabi felt helpless and panic and ran to find her father, who was peacefully watching the chuning exams.

Hiashi arrived an hour later. He walked with a worried look on his face through the Hyuuga compound. He stopped on Hinata's door. Not sure about what he was going to find, he knock the door and called her; when he didn't get an answer he opened it. Hinata wasn't there. 'Troublesome' would be a very good word to describe the girl in that moment.

Neji had spent the last hour trying to calm himself, with not much success I must say. Still, he wasn't crying anymore; in fact, he was kind of angry. He had been searching for an answer in any single part of his mind, and found none. He couldn't explain his desire to kill Naruto (he knew that it wasn't his fault that Hinata was in love with him, and it was certainly not his fault that she never told him her feelings. Still, he wanted to kill him). He couldn't explain why every time Hinata spoke about her feelings for Naruto he felt so much pain, anger, and lots of more unknown feelings, like his desire of stop Hinata's pain as fast as he could.

And the most important fact: why does he always blush whenever he sees her or think about her? He had felt the warm feeling of blushing for about four to six months… The difference now was that he finally understood that he was in fact blushing, and the feeling was not the weather's fault, or a sudden fever, or an abnormal disease. No, it was in fact that he was blushing.

He sat on the grass and cleaned his face with his forearm. He stood up, ready to leave, when he saw someone (or better, he felt someone) on a near tree.

"Are you feeling better now?" asked Lee's voice from the top of the tree. He then jumped from the tree and landed near Neji.

"Lee…" he couldn't believe it "How long have you…?"

"Some minutes before you left my apartment. I knew I heard something, but didn't expect it was you. But, let's leave that for now…Why are you in so much pain, my youthful friend? Whatever it is, I promise I'll help you as better as I can!" he then gave Neji a blinding smile and a 'thumbs up.'

Neji stood froze for a few seconds as he processed the information; he then gave a weak smile to Lee.

"Don't worry about me, Lee, I'm fine…" he lied "I was just…not feeling ok."

Lee gave him a severe look. Maybe he wasn't a genius, but he certainly knew when his friends weren't ok.

"Neji…" he spoke "I might not be a genius like you, but I have known you for several years now. If something is hurting you, you can tell me. That's what friends are for after all" he then made his 'good guy's pose' again. "Besides, you've been acting weird since yesterday, and you didn't come to the training today".

Neji hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to let Lee watch him crying. But he needed an answer and…wait a second…Lee was also there when they saw Naruto and Sakura…but he looked like nothing happened…

"Lee…Are you alright? You know…about yesterday…" he asked.

"Ah?" Lee said "Oh, you mean…ah well…what else can I do about it…well, Sakura san is my friend, so as Naruto, and I'm happy for them really…and…well…I…" he blushed "well, there's…someone…you know, I'm in the spring of youth! I…sometimes we…I…think…I might…eh…I think I'm falling in love with…" he hesitate "somebody else…"

"Really?" asked Neji.

"Oh yes!" Lee said in a very enthusiastic way "I mean…I just realize a few months ago…it's just that…well, I blush every time I think about her, and when she is near to me…and I can't stop thinking about her either…"

Neji couldn't believe what he was hearing, and it was not the fact that Lee was in love with someone that was not Sakura…

"I also feel a heavy feeling whenever I think about her being with somebody else, you know, in my heart" Lee continued; he placed a hand on his chest as if he was feeling it in that moment "and it makes me feel so hopelessly and sad…but I'll do my best! I'm in the spring of youth and shall try to win her heart or die in the intent!!"

Neji opened his mouth, but no sound came out of it. Lee had just described some of his symptoms.

"And…" Neji began "you think…that you are in love because you have these feelings?"

"Well, yes of course!" Lee answered "this id what I used to feel for Sakura san, only that I stopped feeling it long ago, and I began feeling it a few weeks ago…But enough of me! You hadn't told me what you were crying for."

"Well…" he said. "I…maybe…ugh…Lee…can we talk about this later? I have…some other things to do…"

"Oh" Lee wondered if that would be right "ok, if that makes you happy." Then he did something Neji didn't expected. Lee hugged him. It happened too fast, but still… "Take care, Neji." And with that, he left.

Neji didn't want to go home. He was too confused for doing that. Instead, he went to walk on the river side. Soon, he found out that he was approaching to the place where he found Hinata last afternoon. He didn't expect to see what he saw.

Standing on a relative long distance from the place, he saw Hinata, sitting on the very same place, but the difference was that she wasn't alone. Her teammates were there with her.

It wouldn't have been too hard for him to watch the scene, if it hadn't be for their position. Kiba was on her left side and Shino was on her right side. Both were hugging her, comforting her, and she was crying. He felt such a big hopelessness that he had to hold himself with a tree in order to not falling to the floor.

Then Kiba raised one hand to dry Hinata's tears from her cheeks. The hopelessness gave space to another feeling, and this was even more unknown than the others he had felt before…it was jealousy.

But of course, he didn't know that. He just felt anger, he just felt his blood boiling and this sudden impulse to hit Kiba right on the face; 'Don't touch her' he said to himself. 'Who are these idiots to touch her?' His mind repeated. 'Hit them. Kick them. Make them never touch her again'

And then he froze again. 'What am I thinking?' he asked to himself 'What am I doing?' he was staring at his fists, unfolding them to see the marks of his nails on his palms. 'Why am I feeling this? It can't be that I'm… Am I jealous?' He felt panic; that feeling was so damn out of his usual self that he couldn't recognize himself anymore. He turned around and left the place. He was now going home. He had not a better idea. He walked in silence, trying to not face reality.

A few hours passed, and he was now staring at the sunset, sitting on the rooftop of the building that faced the entrance of the Hyuuga compound. He then saw her coming…with her teammates. He felt this awful pain on his chest again, but he could manage to control himself before jumping to kill them.

He saw how Shino gave her a hug; he saw how Kiba gave her a kiss on her cheek, and, finally, he saw that small smile on her face. It was not as radiant as it used to, but it was a smile anyway. He felt useless again. It was not fair. He gave the best of him trying to comfort her but she just cried and cried… but they…

He was about to leave the rooftop to ran away from his pain and anger and sadness and hopelessness when she turned up her face and saw him. She smiled at him, and Neji, without thinking, jumped from the roof to a place near to her.

"Hinata sama…" he whispered, his heart still painful.

"Neji n-nisan" she said. Neji felt his body trembling. Did she just call him 'nisan'? "I wanted t-to s-see you"

"…" Neji was now definitely out of words.

"Neji nisan…Arigatou!!" And then she threw herself into his arms. She hugged him. It was such a warm feeling. All his anger and pain and everything else just blew away. "T-thank you for being so n-nice" she pulled apart.

"Hinata nechan!" hanabi screamed.

"Coming! See you later, Neji niisan" she said, staring at the floor with a kind of ashamed look, before leaving.

Hinata turned without looking at Neji, probably because she didn't want him to see her red eyes and her violent blush. Whatever the reason was, he was grateful, for his face was as red as the best tomato and he was trembling a bit. His heart was beating so fast that he thought he was going to die right there. He stood there, watching her leaving, her long beautiful hair behind her… He couldn't affront reality. He would have fallen to the floor if not being for his huge ego and the fact that he was just too tired for even doing it. He would have to fight against these feelings from now on, and he didn't like the idea. He didn't like it at all.

Hinata was running to where Hanabi was. She would have to give her and her father an explanation. She didn't care. Her friends made her feel better. And the best part of all, she was able to call Neji 'niisan' again. She knew now that he really cared for her. She was still in love with Naruto, but, with some luck, she will be able to forget him. She will give the best of her in order to forget him. A small tear ran down her face; the pain might take a lot of time to disappear, maybe more than she expected…or will it not?

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Did you like it? I hope you did. Thank you all for reading it! Next chapter will be coming soon, I promise! (Good guy's pose) See you next time! And please leave a review!


	3. Chapter 3

I'm so sorry!! Don't kill me!! I know it took me long!! I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to take so long in update the next chapter. I was really busy. College is taking my whole time.

Ok, now, to the point. Here's chapter three, I hope you enjoy it. If you feel it kind of boring, don't worry, it gets better in the next chapter.

So... enjoy!! And don't hate me please!! Leave review!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Rock Lee would appear more. He is my hero!!

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**Chapter three: Dreams and breakfast**

Hinata was running very fast. She was breathless when she reached a spot in the darkest part of the woods. She suddenly stopped and looked around her. Nothing, whoever was following her had stopped now. She then sighed in relieve and…

Neji woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. He was resting in one side of the camp fire; Lee, Tenten and Gai sensei still asleep. He sat, closed his eyes and covered his head with his hands in pain, trying to forget the last part of his dream. This had to stop. Whenever he didn't have a nightmare about Hinata like now, he had those kind of dreams that suggested that he loved her more than a cousin should…it was driving him crazy.

He opened his eyes again and moved his hands to his lap. He was still breathless. He watched his palms in silence for a while. What shall he do? He couldn't admit his true feelings, not even to himself. Every time he had thought about it he just scream something like 'shut up' to his head and then the idea disappeared. Or that was the idea at least; lately, this method was almost useless. It was either admitting it or denying it. He had chosen the last one, and he was now paying the prize for it.

"Neji?" asked a half sleep Tenten "Are you alright? Why are you awake?"

"I just…" he began, but Tenten interrupted him.

"Not again…" she whispered "Another nightmare?" Neji turned his face to the floor "Neji this can't continue, you haven't had a proper sleep since we started this mission. If something is bothering you, you should tell us, or it'll drive you insane"

"I'm fine, Tenten" Neji lied. He then covered himself with his sheet and turned his back on Tenten "Go back to sleep, I'll be fine"

"I don't believe you, but if that's the way you want it to be" she came back to sleep, not daring to look at Neji again. She was getting tired of asking, so as Lee and Gai sensei. Sadly for them, the boy was too proud to admit that something was killing him from inside out. How can you tell your friends how do you feel if you cannot admit it even to yourself? He came back to sleep after a few minutes.

Later that night, Hinata was waking up at the side of her own camp fire. She opened her eyes to stare at the full moon. She couldn't remember her last dream, but she was sure it was beautiful and peaceful. The first good sleep she had had in almost a week.

She turned her face to one side to see Kiba and Akamaru sleeping. Kiba was mumbling something that she couldn't understand, but she imagined that it was probably something that had to do with food. She turned to her left side. Shino was having a very peaceful sleep. She fell asleep after a few more minutes.

Team Gai arrived from their mission seven days after they left. They were one of the best teams in all Konoha. They were passing by a tea shop when they saw Kurenai's team.

"Hi! How are you, Gai?" asked Kurenai sensei.

"Very good! We are arriving from another successful mission!" answered Gai sensei as he gave her a blinding smile and a thumps up.

"I can see that!" said Kurenai as she sighed in patience. "We arrived yesterday from ours. It was successful too. Would you like to drink some tea with us?" asked Kurenai.

"Well, I have to report to Tsunade sama" answered Gai "but the kids can stay… what about going later for some drink, Kurenai? Do you have plans for tonight?"

"I was going to ask you the same. Anko and Kakashi asked me for a drink earlier this morning. I'll go with you to the Hokage tower to tell you the details. See you boys later" said Kurenai, as she followed Gai to the Hokage Tower.

"Hey Kiba, how are things going?" asked Lee to Kiba, as he sat next to him and Akamaru.

"Good!" answered Kiba "Guess what I saw on this trip!"

"Here we go again…" said Shino and Tenten, almost at the same time. They laugh a bit and then started a very nice conversation about the recent adventures. Neji thought he saw Lee making a shadowed face at this, but it was probably his imagination.

"Neji nisan" said Hinata "H… how a-are you?" she asked with her usual shy voice.

Neji wanted to run away. Seven days without seeing her, and now, there she was, looking more beautiful than he could remember. He wasn't sure he was going to be able of control himself. He then remembered one of those weird dreams about her… and he blushed violently.

"I… I'm fine, Hinata sama" was all he said as he turned around his face to a different direction "I'm going for my tea…" and then, he turned around to get inside the small shop.

"Bring me something too" said Tenten "You know which one I like don't you?"

"Yes Tenten I know…" he said, a little pissed off "Don't expect me to bring yours too, Lee"

Kiba laughed at this. Lee apologized to him as he stood up to follow Neji.

They were waiting for their orders when Lee began talking.

"Neji… did something happened between Hinata chan and you?"

Neji couldn't believe it. So Lee wasn't that stupid…

"I… don't know what you mean" he answered as he turned his face to a different direction; if Lee would have turned to see him, he would found out that his face was almost completely red.

Lee was about to reply to Neji's answer when their orders arrived. Neji took his order and Tenten's, and returned to the bench outside the shop. Lee followed him; there was no point in arguing with Neji when he was angry.

When they arrived, Neji almost drop the tea. Kiba was hugging Hinata while talking about Neji-never-knew-what.

"So, that's how everything happened. What do you think, Tenten? Isn't that a good story?" finished Kiba.

Neji stood froze, what was Kiba talking about? It couldn't be that…

"Haha! It's pretty funny, I most admit. Whoa Neji! You have my tea?" asked Tenten as she saw Neji "is something wrong?"

Neji regain control of himself after Tenten's question. So, it wasn't what he was thinking. He sighed in relieve, but nobody realized. "Yeah, I'm fine, just tired, that's all"

They all sat and told stories on that bench; well, all of them except Neji of course, who sat this time in the opposite side to Hinata and said nothing while drinking his tea. After almost two hours of talking, they all left to their respective homes. Unfortunately for Neji, he had to walk with Hinata all the way back.

Neji found himself in the most uncomfortable situation of his life. He didn't even dare to turn to see Hinata. All those dreams were he hugs her, pass a hand gently on her face, and even kiss her, were hunting him at that moment. (Yes you perverts, that's all he dreams about, so don't have a wrong impression!!). It made him feel guilty.

"N-Neji n-nisan…" said Hinata.

Neji's heart almost jumps out of his body. Without turning to see her face, he answered "Hai?"

"A-are y-you m-mad at me?" she asked in her so usual shy tone of voice.

Neji stopped walking and stood as froze as a statue for several seconds. Angry at her? How could he possible be angry at her?

"I… ie… I'm…I'm not angry at you" he answered "Why do you ask?"

"I… because you suddenly s-stopped t-talking to me a w-while ago" she answered.

Neji didn't know what to say. How could he tell her that he was scared a while ago about she being Kiba's girlfriend? He had experienced an anguish that was unknown to him, and he couldn't sit next to her with Lee watching his movements; Lee could be kinda dumb sometimes, but he was definitely not stupid. He would have noticed him getting nervous, blushing, and shivering at her sight or touch...

"I… have some things to think about that's all…" he answered as he began walking again. He was leading the march now, for he didn't want Hinata to see his blushing face.

"Oh… I s-see" she said "I'm happy…" she said, blushing a bit.

"Why?" Neji asked, feeling curious as he tried to regain control of himself.

"Because you're not angry at me" she said "I'll be very sad if N-Neji niisan is a-angry at m-me"

Neji said nothing; instead, he kept walking, eyes staring at the floor. Could it be possible that Hinata had feelings for him? 'No, she sees me as a brother, nothing more' he thought to himself 'nothing more' his mind echoed. His feelings for her must be the same; they HAD to be the same. 'I'm probably just confused' he told himself. It had to be that.

Yes, it had to be that, and yet, while thinking about it, the image of Hinata being with Kiba, or anybody else, was just so painful…

"Hin… Hinata sama" he said, almost in a whisper "Is there…" he couldn't believe he was going to ask that… "Is there something between you and…"

Neji couldn't finish his question, for Hinata had stopped because of a scene right in front of them. Sakura and Naruto were just turning around the corner.

Neji couldn't think. He tried very hard of regain control of his body, but he couldn't. His body reacted against his will… again.

Aware of the new tears that might come out of Hinata's eyes, he pulled her closer to an embrace. He surrounded her with his arms. She fitted perfectly between his arms.

Hinata blushed violently in the moment she found herself between her cousin's arms. What was going on? Was Neji ill or something like that? She was so surprised that she forgot about Naruto for a few seconds. Then, Neji whispered to her ear "Let's go home" Hinata just nodded. They were gone by the time Naruto and Sakura realized that there was someone else in that long street.

"You know, I could swear that there was someone else at the end of the street" Sakura said to Naruto.

"What?" asked Naruto, turning his face form Sakura to the now empty street. She sighed.

"Doesn't matter" she said. They continued their walk.

When Neji and Hinata finally arrived home, a deathly silence was surrounding them. They didn't look at each other, they weren't hugging anymore, and they were both stunned and confused. Hinata wasn't thinking about Naruto anymore. And then, Neji got panic.

"I… ugh... maybe…" he didn't know what to say, and he was pretty sure that his face was so red now that it had to be impossible not to notice it from a long distance. "I have to go bye!" and he turned to go to his bedroom, almost running through the hallway. Hinata was so confused that she just looked at him leaving. Of being her another person, she might have asked 'What the hell was that?' But we are talking about Hinata, so, she just limited herself to ask 'What happened?' She left to her room after loosing sight of Neji.

However, Neji's subconscious wasn't that angelical.

'What the fucking hell was that?!' he kept repeating to himself 'Why did you do that for? You fool! Now she is going to suspect about you being in love… No! I'm not in love with her!!' he screamed to himself before he could stop. He then closed the door behind him and slipped to the floor of his bedroom. 'I'm not in love with her…' It was too late now. By denying it like that, he had just admitted the truth. And he knew it.

"How could this happen to me?" he asked in a whisper. There was no point in denying it anymore. "How is it possible that I… that I…" it was hard to admit it though. "How could it be possible that I'm in love with her?" he waited for an answer, but it didn't come. He sat in silence during several minutes until he could put himself together. What was he going to do now?

Meanwhile, Hinata was inside her own bedroom, trying to find an answer. Her resolution was 'Neji niisan must be worried about me. Maybe he doesn't want me to get distracted from my missions… maybe he just returned to love me as his little sister!' she giggled. She was very happy that his nisan loved her again. Too bad for Neji that she didn't realize the kind of love he actually felt.

Dinner passed as always. The family ate together, Neji said nothing and only looked at his plate; Hinata was happily talking with her sister. Hiashi finished first, and left to attend some business. Neji practically run the hell out of the room after finishing dinner. Hinata giggled again. Neji cared for her now, and he didn't know how to express it. She will have to give him time to do so.

Neji spread some water to his face once he reached his bathroom. He had definitely to do something about it.

Next day he woke up earlier than anybody else, as always. He went to his training spot inside the Hyuuga compound. Training made him forget about everything for a while. Sadly for him, his mental peace didn't last the whole day.

When he finished, and when the last drop of sweat was cleaned up from his forehead, he turned to the deck of the hallway and couldn't stop himself from blushing.

Hinata, with her long hair tight in a beautiful ribbon, and dressed in a cute yellow kimono, sat in the border of the deck, with a small table at her left. A plate full of steamy food laid on it.

"M-morning N-Neji nisan" she said.

"…" Neji said nothing. He was too stunned at the look of her. When did she arrive? How long had he been training?

Hinata turned her face to a different direction, thinking about what to say next.

"M…morning… Hinata sama…" whispered Neji after a moment of silence.

"I… brought you breakfast, N-Neji nisan" she said "You've been t-training so long…that…you missed breakfast with us…" Neji couldn't believe it. He turned his face to the sky, and realized that there was a lot of light. He lost track of time, and he was so concentrate that he didn't even realized that Hinata arrived with the food. What a fool he was.

"A…arigato, Hinata sama" he said. Then, he sat at the other side of the small table. Was she going to make him company?

He then turned to see his breakfast. It was a kind of different menu from the usual one.

"I c-cooked that for y-you" she said watching Neji's face. Neji couldn't believe it; she then continued "b-because y-you always say that you get b-bored eating the same every day" So she listened to him whenever he talks…

"Thanks… but… why?" Neji asked. Hinata blushed as she answered.

"Because y-you've been nice with m-me lately…" It makes sense, Neji thought, as he began eating. They sat in silence for a while. Neji blushed. Hinata was better cooker that the one that always makes the meals. Breakfast was exquisite; she couldn't be more perfect.

'If I marry her, would she cook for me everyday?' he thought, but he cursed himself immediately after thinking it. Was he playing dumb? He couldn't marry her! He was her cousin! And she was from the main branch! A shadow crossed his face as he thought of it. It was true, they would never be together. Besides, she was still in love with Naruto. Damn you, Naruto!

"D-does it tastes b-bad?" Hinata asked, looking at the hard expression on his face.

"What? No! It is… it is delicious…" mumbled Neji, turning his face to a different direction.

"Really? Oh, I'm so happy!" she said enthusiastically. She giggled again, sending an electrifying feeling up Neji's back.

Neji ate his breakfast in silence. When he finished, he said thanks to Hinata and left to his room. Hinata was happy; Neji was dying inside. These feelings had to stop.

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So, there you have! Ok, I'll take the reponsibiliy, you can kick me if you want... But don't kill me! Next chapter will be better, I hope... Have a nice day! Leave review!!


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